Lifeline
by forever.and.always.was.a.lie
Summary: Alice was drowning in a sea of despair, betrayal and lies. Her only options were to let the overpowering desire to just surrender consume her, or to find it in her to trust a stranger she knows nothing about. What do you do when you have no choice?


**So, this is my new story: Lifeline. I've been contemplating it for a while, and I decided to try it out. Let me know what you nthink in a review, and I may keep going if it gets positive feedback :) So, let me know!**

The voices were muffled. But I listened anyway, I needed to know what was going on. I couldn't sit in the dark, while the world kept spinning around me.  
>"And she will need treatment, yes?" That was her mother's unmistakable tone of disgust. The same tone she used everytime they discussed me. I, Mary Alice Brandon, was a disappointment as a daughter, and a failure as a person. I couldn't even be <em>normal<em>.  
>"Yes, we will need to give her treatment, and tests. She will need to be moved to a psychiatric unit immediately." I froze, my breath caught in my throat. No, they promised. No, they said they believed me, they said I didn't have to worry. They said I'd never have to go. My mind was spinning into a downward spiral of panic.<br>I couldn't go. No, they would hurt me. Adrenaline kicked in. I had to leave. Get out. But my feet weren't moving.  
>"As long as I never have to see that little <em>freak<em> again, it will be fine." My father chortled at my mother's cruel statement. My blood pounded in my ears. And to think I used to believe she cared. I was gone, and she was dead to me from this second forward.  
>"Mrs. Brandon, she will possibly need shock treatment, if these visions she speaks of are really as she claims." The doctor continued to inform my parents of what I needed. My brain wanted to scream out, wanted me to shout out my rebellion, but my heart twisted painfully at the thought of opening my mouth. I would just break down and cry, the last thing I needed.<br>"So if you will just go and collect your daughter-" There was the screech of chairs being pushed back against the protesting lineoum of the kitchen floor.  
>They just wanted to hurt me. They were going to kill me slowly. I wasn't going. I was only seventeen. I had so much to look forward to in life. Thsi doctor had no right to just take that all from me.<br>I. Wasn't. Crazy!

I hadn't even realised I had started running or crying, until I found myself outside, shivering. For months, I had been drowning in the depressing knowledge of being supposedly 'deranged'. I was looked at like a freak. I didn't have a normal life, and I was never going to have one. Ever. They had just taken that away from me, along with my pride and sanity.  
>"No!" My scream simply echoed around me. My breathing was uneven, my vision clouded.<br>They never loved me. They never saw me as a daughter. I gave a short bitter laugh. They probably wouldn't btoher looking for me, now that I'd left.  
>Shouts were heard from inside a house. I was sitting in the middle of the street, crying and screaming. Only more to add to my 'insanity' profile.<br>Standing, I continued to stumble on. Street after street after street, I couldn't get far enough away. The sun was setting, and my strength slowly deterred. That's not to say I didn't keep going. The further I got, the more the depression seemed to swallow me. I had lived in hell for the last ten years. And I was going to end it now.  
>The only sounds around me were the slight whistle of the wind and my own occassional whimper or sob.<br>This couldn't go on anymore. I was hurting not only myself by living, but those around me. I couldn't do that. It had to end.

I don't know how long I had been walking, but I had found myself in an unfamiliar place, following an unfamiliar road. No one would miss me when I was gone. A few perhaps would mourn for appearances but that was it. They did, after all, want me out of their lives.  
>"I'm doing them a favour." I whispered to myself bitterly. My shirt was stained with salty tears and dirt. But who was I to care what I died in?<br>I was going to die. Either way. One would be a death driven by insanity, the other, a route for a way out. Equally terrifying prospects. But really, I'd rather die by my own choice, than being shoved poked and prodded towards my inevitable demise. Wouldn't anyone?

Just ahead was a jetty. And below was a sea of terrifying blue. I can't swim. And it all clicked in my mind. There was nothing happy in the slightest about this situation, but I still had a smile on my face. This was the closest to freedom I had ever been. And I was exhilirated. If only it didn't have to end this way. But there was no other choice.  
><em>Of course, there is Alice<em>. The voice in the back of my head spoke reason. _There's always another way. You'll work it out. Don't do it, please_.  
>I gave a dark chuckle. I was battling with myself. Perhaps he was right; maybe I am insane.<p>

The breeze was a lot stronger on the jetty; closer to the water. Standing so close to my own impending suicide was like the crashign of a brick wall, the shattered pieces scattered around me, collapsing on me. I had run away from home. I had run away from any life I had ever known. I had left everything I ever had behind with my pride and sanity. I had nothing. I had ruined my life. Or whatever I could have had. But then again, they would have ruined it anyway.  
>Tears were once again flowing. I bent down, and hugged my knees to my chest. I was shaking, but resisted the overpowering temptation to scream, to shout. I looked around. The sun just above the water was beautiful; the sky was tinted with pinks and oranges. If this was the last thing I saw before I died, I would be content.<br>A small gather of people caught my eye. They were situated at the end of the jetty. They could be no older than 25, some, possibly under 20. A big guy was jumping into the water, dragging a beautiful blonde with him. She was squealing and laughing. They were the picture of happy. A happy I had never experienced. I envied them in so many ways. A little away was a brunette and a bronze haired boy. They both looked about eighteen, and deeply in love. They were blissfully unaware fo everything but themselves. I would never get to feel like that. Ever.  
>"Jasper, come on!" The blonde was in the water with the other man. That's when I noticed him. Jasper. He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. Blonde strands of hair had fallen into his face, over his ice blue eyes. He smiled at the girl and shook his head. He was content to sit on the side, watching.<br>But he wasn't happy. His eyes were downcast; there was something holding him back. I yearned to reach out for him, but I couldn't do that. I was leaving. His eyes met mine for a split second before I turned away. I let out a sigh. Then a vision came.  
><em>A giggling baby, a girl. She sat in Jasper's arms, while I looked down at her adoringly. Jasper leaned over and pecked me on the cheek. <em>But this couldn't happen, I was leaving. It changed.  
><em>There was nothing. Only water, and my slowly sinking form. And then a splash of water above caught my attention, but it was too late. Everything turned black. <em>

I slowly crept closer to the edge of the jetty, delayed fear had finally caught up with me. I turned once again, to check if anyone was watching, I told myself. But really, I knew I had done it to catch one last glimpse of the beautiful stranger.

And when no one was watching, I let myself fall backwards, into the water. _Goodbye_, I thought. My eyes fluttered close as I made impact with the water. The screaming and laughing of the couples were muffled by the water around me. But I still heard them. And as my world faded to black slowly, I still saw his face in my mind. His beautiful face. And as it was finally ending, everything turning into nothingness, a black sort of death, there was a splash, and something enclosed itself around my wrist. If this was death, it was a welcome feeling.

**Cliffie! I know, so horrible of me to put it on the first chapter, but if I get one review, or even if I get none, I will update it. Next one is in our gorgeous stranger, Jasper's POV. Don't forget to check otu my other story, 'Overcome' as well, and leave a review! x**


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